Manchester United F.C. season 2008-09

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Manchester United
Season 2008–09
Manager Flag of Scotland Sir Alex Ferguson
Chairman Flag of the United States Joel & Avram Glazer
League Premier League
Final league position
FA Cup
Carling Cup
Community Shield
UEFA Champions League
UEFA Super Cup
FIFA Club World Cup
Top goalscorer

The 2008–09 season is Manchester United's 17th season in the Premier League, and their 34th consecutive season in the top division of English football.

[edit] Pre-season and Friendlies

Manchester United are due to begin their pre-season schedule on 12 July 2008 with a trip up to Pittodrie Stadium to play against Alex Ferguson's former team, Aberdeen, in a fixture to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Dons winning the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, for which Ferguson himself was the manager.[1]

The team is then scheduled to leave for South Africa to play in the 2008 Vodacom Challenge. The tournament will begin with United playing against Kaizer Chiefs in Cape Town, before moving on to Durban to play against Orlando Pirates three days later. The two South African teams will then play against each other in Port Elizabeth on 24 July. The winner of this match will be rewarded by a further fixture against Manchester United in Pretoria on 26 July.[2]

En route back from South Africa, United will stop off in Abuja, Nigeria, for a friendly against Portsmouth. Coincidentally, this will be a "dress rehearsal" for the Community Shield on 10 August. It will also be United's first trip to Nigeria, the location of the club's fourth largest fan base, with 13.6 million supporters.[3] Upon their return from Africa, the Manchester United team will then be involved in Ole Gunnar Solskjær's testimonial on 2 August 2008. The match is due to be played at Old Trafford, with the opposition being RCD Espanyol.[4] This match will be followed by an eight-day reprieve for the players before they compete in the 2008 FA Community Shield against Portsmouth on 10 August.[5] It will be United's second game against Portsmouth in two weeks.

Date Opponents H / A Result
F – A
Scorers Attendance
12 July 2008 Aberdeen A
19 July 2008 Kaizer Chiefs N
22 July 2008 Orlando Pirates N
26 July 2008 Kaizer Chiefs/Orlando Pirates N
Portsmouth N
2 August 2008 Espanyol H
10 August 2008 Portsmouth N
29 August 2008 Zenit St. Petersburg N

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hibbs, Ben. "Reds confirm Dons clash", ManUtd.com, 2008-03-11. Retrieved on 2008-05-26. 
  2. ^ Bostock, Adam. "South Africa dates confirmed", ManUtd.com, 2008-02-12. Retrieved on 2008-05-26. 
  3. ^ Coppack, Nick. "Reds announce Nigeria stop", ManUtd.com, 2008-06-04. Retrieved on 2008-06-04. 
  4. ^ Thompson, Gemma. "Testimonial tribute for Ole", ManUtd.com, 2008-04-28. Retrieved on 2008-05-26. 
  5. ^ "The FA Community Shield sponsored by McDonald's", TheFA.com, 2008-05-07. Retrieved on 2008-05-26.